What to make of Richardson? With first-round running backs becoming rare in the real NFL, Richardson has essentially been the equivalent of two first-rounders. Not only did the Browns draft him with the third-overall pick in 2012, but the Colts gave up their first-round pick this year to acquire T-Rich last year.

Despite his first-round ADP (in fantasy drafts) in 2013, Richardson was arguably the biggest disappointment in fake football last season. Even with an upgrade at quarterback (Andrew Luck), Richardson averaged a paltry 2.92 yards per carry and was eventually demoted in favor of Donald Brown.

With Brown now in San Diego, Richardson should get the first opportunity to lead the team in carries this year. That said, it's not easy to have faith in Richardson. With a lower cost on draft day, however, he could turn out to be a steal ... or a waste of a draft pick.

The most-cited excuse for T-Rich has been has lack of familiarity with the offense as he was traded afte the start of the season. So far (and granted it's only one preseason game), it looks like the same old Richardson.

With injuries in the team's backfield, Hyde has emerged as the clear No. 2 running back behind 31-year-old incumbent Frank Gore. As my top-ranked running back prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft, Hyde rushed for 1,521 yards (7.3 YPC) and 15 touchdowns as a senior at Ohio State last year.

It will take an injury for Hyde to have a big season in 2014, but he could become an RB2 (or better) behind one of the league's best offensive lines in 2015 and beyond.

Overall, Cameron had a breakout season (80/917/7) in his third year and only New Orleans' Jimmy Graham had more yards among tight ends last season. While the TE-friendly coaching staff was fired after just one season, the 26-year-old tight end has the talent and athleticism to continue to build upon last year's success.

It was a tale of two halves for Cameron. In the first half of the season, Cameron finished with 49 receptions for 596 yards and six touchdowns. While he had a huge Week 14 vs. the Patriots (9/121/1), the second half was a huge disappointment overall: 31/321/1. With Josh Gordon likely facing a season-long ban, however, it should open up the opportunities for Cameron to produce TE1 numbers on a more consistent basis in 2014.

One of the league's faster receivers, Smith set career highs in receptions (65) and yards (1,128) but a career low in touchdowns (four) in his age-24 season. In addition, Smith was nearly as productive in his first five games (27/556/1 — 20.49 Y/R) as he was in the final 11 games (38/572/3 — 15.05 Y/R).

In his first four seasons in the NFL, Patriots receiver Julian Edelman had a total of 69 catches for 714 yards and four touchdowns. Finishing 10th in the league in targets (151), Edelman's full-year numbers were 105 receptions, which was fourth-most in the NFL, for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns.

While he will likely remain Tom Brady's most-trusted wideout, last year's numbers were likely a best-case scenario meaning he's unlikely to duplicate that production in 2014 (and beyond). Edelman would have more value in PPR formats.

The team's new offensive coordinator has indicated that he'd like to split the workload between Bell and Reggie Bush, which is essentially what happened last season as well. Bell gained 1,197 yards from scrimmage with eight touchdowns on 219 touches and finished as a top-20 fantasy running back last season.

It's certainly possible that Bell outproduces Bush this season, but I'd take Bell, who turned 28 this month, before I took Bush, who turns 30 in March, in a dynasty format.

Except for setting a career high in passing touchdowns (24), Newton set career lows in passing yards (3,379), rushing yards (585) and rushing touchdowns (six) last season. Even so, Newton finished as a top-three fantasy quarterback last season. Through three NFL seasons, he has yet to finish outside of the top five.

Newton has become the only NFL quarterback in history to start his career with 10,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in his first three seasons. Perhaps the rush attempts will eventually take its toll, but Newton is built like a linebacker (6-5, 245).

There have been two primary knocks on Johnson: durability and lack of touchdowns. While he has played in 16 games in back-to-back seasons, it is shocking that he has never caught double-digit touchdowns in his 11-year career.

When he has played 16 games in a season, however, he has been extremely productive. Playing a full 16-game slate in four of the past six seasons, Johnson has a minimum of 101 receptions (2009) and 1,407 yards (2013) in those four campaigns.

As his career winds down, Johnson has another year or two of high-level production to help a dynasty team win now.

In his first season with the Lions, Bush ran for 1,006 yards and caught 54 passes for 506 yards with a total of seven touchdowns in 14 games. Despite missing two games, Bush set a career high in yards from scrimmage (1,512) and he was the franchise's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2004.

As noted earlier, however, Bush may not lead the team in touches like he did last year and he'll turn 30 years old in March. That said, he's a solid RB2 for the 2014 season.

There are a number of things to like about Griffin III: (1) unique athleticism for a quarterback — or really any player, (2) can make all the throws, (3) talented group of pass-catchers and (4) new pass-oriented head coach. In fact, Jay Gruden coached up Andy Dalton to a top-five finish among QBs last season.

Durability is main concern with him, however. Not only has he sustained his fair share of injuries including multiple ACL injuries, but his running style leads to an increased risk of injury. Provided he stays relatively durable, it wouldn't be a surprise to see many top-five finishes for RG3 over the next several seasons.

The team's talented second-round pick from 2013, Michael will be much more involved in the team's offensive game plan this year even though Marshawn Lynch's holdout was short-lived. More than likely, however, Michael will have an opportunity to be the team's workhorse back in 2015 (and beyond) as many speculate that Lynch will be a cap casualty after this season.

Often compared to his new teammate Vincent Jackson when it comes to NFL comparables, Evans has great size (6-foot-5, 35-inch arms) and excellent athleticism for his size. While it's typically difficult for rookie receivers to make a major impact, Evans should be able to make an immediate impact in the red zone.

Longer term, it wouldn't be a surprise if he developed into the best fantasy wide receiver from this year's talented and deep wide receiver class.